On June 9, 1908, King Edward VII became the first British monarch to visit Russia and his Romanov cousins. Tsar Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra were Edward VII’s nephew and niece, and he met them and the entire Romanov family on the waters of the Bay of Reval (today Tallinn). The king and his wife, Queen Alexandra, joined the Romanov family onboard the Russian imperial yacht The Standart.

“It is with feelings of the deepest satisfaction and pleasure that I welcome your Majesty and her Majesty the Queen to Russian waters. I trust that this meeting, while strengthening the many and strong ties which unite our Houses, will have the happy results of drawing our countries closer together, and of promoting and maintaining the peace of the world.”